In-vehicle camera setting method

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-204095, filed on Dec. 1, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to an in-vehicle camera setting method.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2020-27667 is known as a technical document regarding the rewriting of a program of a device mounted in a vehicle. This publication discloses a technique for appropriately controlling the switching from an old program to a new program when a plurality of devices are to be rewritten.

Incidentally, there is a case where a common hardware configuration is required for in-vehicle cameras mounted in a plurality of vehicle models. In this case, since individual vehicle setting information for each vehicle model is written in advance in each in-vehicle camera, it is necessary to manage the correspondence between vehicle models and in-vehicle cameras based on product numbers and the like.

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide an in-vehicle camera setting method capable of reducing the cost of managing an in-vehicle camera.

An in-vehicle camera setting method according to the present disclosure is an in-vehicle camera setting method for setting an in-vehicle camera connected to an ECU of a vehicle, and includes: connecting the in-vehicle camera to the ECU of the vehicle; and writing individual vehicle setting information stored in the ECU into the in-vehicle camera.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an in-vehicle camera setting method capable of reducing the cost of managing the in-vehicle camera.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the diagrams.

is a block diagram of the functional configuration of a vehicle according to the present embodiment. A vehicleshown inis, for example, an autonomous vehicle or a driving support vehicle. As shown in, the vehicleincludes an electronic control unit (ECU), an in-vehicle camera, and a display.

The ECUis an electronic control unit including a central processing unit (CPU) and a storage unit such as at least one of a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM). In the ECU, for example, the CPU executes programs stored in the storage unit to realize various functions. The ECUis mounted in the vehicle.

The in-vehicle cameracaptures an image of the external environment of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the in-vehicle camerais at least one of a front camera that captures an image in front of the vehicle, a left camera that captures an image on the left side of the vehicle, a right camera that captures an image on the right side of the vehicle, and a rear camera that captures an image behind the vehicle. The in-vehicle cameramay be a monocular camera or a stereo camera. The in-vehicle camerais connected to the ECU. The in-vehicle cameratransmits a captured image of the external environment of the vehicleto the ECU.

The displayis provided, for example, on an instrument panel of the vehicle. The displayhas a display screen for displaying an image. The displaydisplays an image on the display screen in response to a control signal from the ECU. In addition, the displaymay be a head up display (HUD) that projects and displays an image on the windshield of the vehicleor a projection screen.

The ECUincludes, as its functional components, a storage unit, a write command signal receiving unit, a setting information writing unit, a determination unit, and a display control unit.

The storage unitstores the individual vehicle setting information of the in-vehicle camera. The individual vehicle setting information includes information such as a camera constant, a camera position, and a camera orientation. The individual vehicle setting information is determined based on at least one of the model of the vehicle, the fixing position of the in-vehicle camerain the vehicle, and the method of fixing the in-vehicle camera.

The write command signal receiving unitreceives a write command signal transmitted from the outside of the vehicle. The write command signal is a trigger signal for writing the individual vehicle setting information stored in the storage unitinto the in-vehicle camera.

When the write command signal receiving unitreceives a write command signal, the setting information writing unitreads out the individual vehicle setting information stored in the storage unit. The setting information writing unittransmits the individual vehicle setting information read from the storage unitto the in-vehicle camera.

The determination unitdetermines whether or not the individual vehicle setting information stored in the in-vehicle cameramatches the individual vehicle setting information stored in the ECU. The determination unitreads out the pieces of individual vehicle setting information stored in the in-vehicle cameraand the ECU, and then determines whether or not the pieces of individual vehicle setting information match each other. The determination unitdetermines whether or not the individual vehicle setting information stored in the in-vehicle camerais initial values. The display control unitdisplays a display image transmitted from the in-vehicle cameraon the display.

The in-vehicle cameraincludes, as its functional components, an imaging unit, a storage unit, an image processing unit, and an image transmission unit.

The imaging unitincludes, for example, a lens and a sensor. The imaging unitcaptures an image of the external environment of the vehicle. The storage unitstores the individual vehicle setting information transmitted from the ECU.

The image processing unitgenerates a display image based on the image captured by the imaging unitand the individual vehicle setting information stored in the storage unit. The display image is an image obtained by reflecting the individual vehicle setting information on the image captured by the imaging unit.

The image transmission unittransmits the display image generated by the image processing unitto the ECU. In this manner, the vehicleperforms image display based on the image captured by the in-vehicle cameraand the individual vehicle setting information of the in-vehicle camera.

Next, an example of an in-vehicle camera setting method will be described.are flowcharts showing steps of the in-vehicle camera setting method. As shown in, the in-vehicle camera setting method includes a setting information storage step S, an initial value setting step S, a camera connection step S, a write command signal transmission step S, a setting information writing step S, and a writing completion determination step S.

In the setting information storage step S, the individual vehicle setting information of the in-vehicle camerais stored in the ECU. In the present embodiment, the setting information storage step Sis performed before the ECUis mounted in the vehicle. In the present embodiment, after the individual vehicle setting information is stored in the ECUduring the process of manufacturing the ECU, the ECUin which the individual vehicle setting information is stored is mounted in the vehicle.

In the initial value setting step S, the initial values of the individual vehicle setting information are written to the in-vehicle camera. In the initial value setting step S, the initial values of the individual vehicle setting information are stored in the storage unitof the in-vehicle camera. In the present embodiment, the initial value setting step Sis executed before the in-vehicle camerais mounted in the vehicle. In the present embodiment, after the initial values are stored in the in-vehicle cameraduring the process of manufacturing the in-vehicle camera, the in-vehicle camerain which the initial values are stored is mounted in the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the setting information storage step Sis executed in a factory where the ECUis manufactured, and the initial value setting step Sis executed in a factory where the in-vehicle camerais manufactured.

In the camera connection step S, the in-vehicle camerais connected to the ECU. In the camera connection step S, the in-vehicle camerain which the initial values are stored is fixed to a predetermined position on the vehicle. The in-vehicle camerais connected to the vehicle. The in-vehicle cameracan communicate with the ECU.

In the write command signal transmission step S, a write command signal is transmitted to the ECUmounted in the vehicle. In the write command signal transmission step S, a write command signal is transmitted from the outside of the vehicleto the ECU. The write command signal transmission step Sis executed, for example, during the process of inspecting the vehicle.

In the setting information writing step S, when a write command signal is transmitted to the ECUfrom the outside of the vehicle, the individual vehicle setting information stored in the ECUis written to the in-vehicle camera. In the setting information writing step S, the individual vehicle setting information stored in the storage unitof the ECUis stored in the storage unitof the in-vehicle camera.

In the writing completion determination step S, after the setting information writing step S, it is determined whether or not the writing of the individual vehicle setting information into the in-vehicle camerahas been completed. In the writing completion determination step S, when the individual vehicle setting information stored in the in-vehicle cameramatches the individual vehicle setting information stored in the ECU, it is determined that the writing of the individual vehicle setting information into the in-vehicle camerahas been completed. In the writing completion determination step S, when the individual vehicle setting information stored in the in-vehicle camerais initial values, it is determined that the writing of the setting information into the in-vehicle camerahas not been completed.

In the present embodiment, the camera connection step S, the write command signal transmission step S, the setting information writing step S, and the writing completion determination step Sare performed in a factory where the vehicleis manufactured.

Next, an example of processing by the ECUof the vehiclewill be described.is a flowchart showing steps of image display in the vehicle. The flowchart shown inis executed after each step shown inis completed. As shown in, in step S, the ECUdetermines whether or not the individual vehicle setting information stored in the ECUmatches the individual vehicle setting information stored in the in-vehicle camera.

When the individual vehicle setting information stored in the ECUmatches the individual vehicle setting information stored in the in-vehicle camera(step S: YES), the ECUproceeds to step S. When the individual vehicle setting information stored in the ECUdoes not match the individual vehicle setting information stored in the in-vehicle camera(step S: NO), the ECUproceeds to step S.

In step S, the ECUdisplays a display image transmitted from the in-vehicle cameraon the display. In step S, the ECUdetermines whether or not the individual vehicle setting information stored in the in-vehicle cameraare initial values. When the individual vehicle setting information stored in the in-vehicle cameraare initial values (step S: YES), the ECUproceeds to step S. When the individual vehicle setting information stored in the in-vehicle cameraare not initial values (step S: NO), the ECUproceeds to step S.

In step S, the ECUexecutes a notification that no setting information is written. For example, the ECUdisplays predetermined information on the displayas a notification that no setting information is written. In step S, the ECUexecutes a notification of an abnormality in written setting information. For example, the ECUdisplays predetermined information on the displayas a notification of an abnormality in written setting information.

As described above, in the setting information writing step S, the individual vehicle setting information stored in advance in the ECUis written to the in-vehicle camerain response to a write command signal. That is, after the in-vehicle camerais connected to the ECU, the individual vehicle setting information is written to the in-vehicle camera. Therefore, it is possible to omit the identification of the in-vehicle cameraregardless of at least one of the model of the vehicleand the fixing position and method of the in-vehicle camera. In addition, the in-vehicle camera setting method according to the present embodiment is advantageous for standardizing the in-vehicle cameraand improves the efficiency of manufacturing and/or inventory management, thereby contributing to overall cost reduction. Therefore, according to the in-vehicle camera setting method, individual vehicle settings for the in-vehicle cameracan be made even if the model number of the in-vehicle camerais not strictly managed according to the vehicle model or the like. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost of managing the in-vehicle camera. In addition, compared with a known method of reflecting the individual vehicle setting information stored in the ECUin the in-vehicle cameraeach time the in-vehicle camerais activated by turning on the ignition of the vehicle, images captured by the in-vehicle cameraare more quickly displayed on the displayat the time of startup.

In the camera connection step S, the in-vehicle camerawith the initial values of the individual vehicle setting information written is connected to the ECU. Therefore, it is possible to standardize the in-vehicle cameraand to omit the identification of the in-vehicle camera.

In the setting information writing step S, when a write command signal is transmitted to the ECUfrom the outside of the vehicle, the individual vehicle setting information stored in the ECUis written to the in-vehicle camera. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately write the individual vehicle setting information stored in the ECUto the in-vehicle camera.

In the writing completion determination step S, when the individual vehicle setting information stored in the in-vehicle cameramatches the individual vehicle setting information stored in the ECU, it is determined that the writing of the individual vehicle setting information into the in-vehicle camerahas been completed. Therefore, it is possible to reliably write the individual vehicle setting information into the in-vehicle camera.

While the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment.

Although the setting information storage step Sis executed in a factory where the ECUis manufactured, the setting information storage step Smay be executed in a factory where the vehicleis manufactured. The in-vehicle camera setting method according to the present disclosure may be executed after the vehicleis manufactured.

Although the in-vehicle camera setting method includes the setting information storage step Sand the initial value setting step S, the in-vehicle camera setting method may not include at least one of the setting information storage step Sand the initial value setting step S. The in-vehicle camera setting method may not include the writing completion determination step S.

Although the ECUin which the individual vehicle setting information is stored is mounted in the vehicleafter the individual vehicle setting information of the in-vehicle camerais stored in the ECU, the individual vehicle setting information may be stored in the ECUafter the ECUis mounted in the vehicle.